​April is more stable than March, the weather is clearly warming, and extreme summer events have a very low frequency. However, in recent years, April has also brought heavy snow, but also temperatures over 30 degrees. In April, it was -26 degrees in the mountains, and on the Danube it was also over +35, the difference is over 60 degrees!. What did April extremes look like over the past 130 years?

Brief information

• In April 1934, it was +34.9 C in Alexandria, and this record lasted for more than half a century. So, in 1985, a record was set that is still valid to this day: +35.5 C in Beshe (Dolj district), the value is all the more impressive because it was not set at the end of the month, but on the 10th.

• Beche has also recorded two April cold records in the past two years: almost -5 C in 2020 and also in 2022. The lowest temperature recorded anywhere in the country in April was -26 C in 1940 at Ohm.

• 1996 was unusual in that it brought several consecutive days of snow in April: seven in Brasov, two in Sibiu, four in Campina, three in Bucharest and four in Bacău. On April 15, heavy snow fell in many parts of the country, which has not happened since then.

• Between April 18 and 20, 1981, a layer of snow fell in many places: Craiova, Ploiesti, Titu, Beilesti, Calafat, Slatina. Snow also fell in the county of Bihor, as well as in Stara Moldavia. In Calafat, the thickness of the snow layer was 3 cm, which is an extraordinary fact for an area that constantly records one of the highest temperatures in the country.

• For the past seven years, April has varied greatly from year to year. In 2018 and 2016, it was extremely hot, in 2017 it snowed heavily, in 2020 and 2021 almost the entire country had negative temperatures, and there was also frost at high altitudes.

• The warmest April day in recent years was 2018, when maximums reached +32.4 C in Calafat and +31.6 C in Beche.

Years when April brought rather unusual weather

1894 year

It was -5.5 degrees Celsius in Kraiów.

1899 year

In Buzeu it was +32°C, a record that stands.

1909 year

It was +31.5 degrees Celsius in Iasi.

1913 year

It was -5.5 degrees again in Kraiów

1929 year

It was -14C in Kampulung Muscel, -14.3C in Predial, and -7.5C in Brasov and Tirgu Mures.

1932 year

A record was set for the amount of precipitation in April in the country: 280 mm in Ohm, which is more than four times the norm.

1933 year

Paltinisha, near Sibiu, received 110 mm of rain on April 24, a record for 24 hours in April in the country.

1934 year

There were extremely high temperatures: +34.9 C in Alexandria +34.4 C in Bucharest, +32.5 C in Tg Mureș, +31.5 C in Brasov and +28.5 C in Prediale.

1940 year

On five different days in Omu, it was -26 degrees, which is the absolute minimum for April in the country

1964 year

It snowed in Koruj (Dobruja) on April 27.

1967 year

On April 24 and 25, snow fell, a layer of snow fell in several places, especially in Transylvania, and also in Campina, a place with a very mild climate. A layer of snow fell in Bistrica, it also snowed in Dey, but also in Tg Mures.

1968 year

On April 10, a layer of snow fell in Arad, as well as in Rymnik-Vilcha. In Iasi on the 25th, it was +30.3°C.

1976 year

A very rare occurrence so late in the year. On April 30, snow fell in Cluj, Oravice, Botosani and Zale. A layer of snow fell in Merkurya-Chuk and Redeuka.

1978 year

On April 7, it was -14.4°C in Merkurya-Chuk.

1981 year

In the period from April 18 to 20, a layer of snow fell in many places: Craiova, Ploiesti, Titu, Beilesti, Calafat, Slatina. Snow also fell in the county of Bihor, as well as in Stara Moldavia. In Calafat, the thickness of the snow layer was 3 cm, which is an extraordinary fact for an area that constantly records one of the highest temperatures in the country. Not only did a layer of snow fall in Ploiesti, but the maximum for the day was only +2 degrees.

1982 year

On April 27, a layer of snow fell in Oradea, and a day later the phenomenon was repeated in Satu Mare and Baia Mare.

1983 year

It was +31.3 degrees in Giurgi

1984 year

On the 27th and 28th of April there were very late snowfalls, and a layer of snow fell in Sibiu, Fegaras, Dragesan, Tirgovishte, Pitesti and Curtia de Arges. It also snowed briefly in Banat, Moldova and Kryshana, this was the last snow episode to cover almost the entire country so late in spring.

1985 year

On April 10, it was +35.5 degrees in Beshete, which is the absolute maximum for April in Romania. It was +34.5°C in Calafat and +34.2°C in Giurgiu.

1986 year

In Ohm it was +12.8 C, an extremely high value.

1988 year

On April 16, a layer of snow fell in Sebeş, Buzău, Kalerăși, Bacău, Haršov and Međidia, while short-term snow fell in Constanta. On April 25, a layer of snow fell on Tg Ocna, and snow fell on Galaci, Rm Sărat and Bârlad.

1992 year

On April 12, a layer of snow fell in Giurgiu, and a week later – in Beileshti. On April 21, it snowed in Moldova (Vaslui, Iasi, Fokshany, Tekuchi).

1996 year

1996 was unusual in that it brought several consecutive days of snow in April: seven in Brasov, two in Sibiu, four in Campina, three in Bucharest and four in Bacău.

in April 1996 there was 44 cm in Brasov, as well as 33 cm in Campina, 16 cm in Sibiu and 21 cm in Bacau. On April 16, a record amount of snow cover was established in many places: Bucharest, Urzichen, Turnu-Magurele, Alexandria, Videle, Beche, Caracal and Deva. It also snowed in Krishan on the 16th.

In 1996, on April 15, the day after Easter, snow fell in most of the country. In Bucharest, from April 15 to 18, the minimum was below 1 degree, and on April 25, the temperature was typical for summer (26 degrees and 29 degrees two days later).

In Sinai, the 1500 level was covered with snow all month, with a maximum of 116 cm on the 16th.

1997 year

It was the coldest April in 60 years, with an average temperature 4.7 degrees below normal. It was also the rainiest month, April.

It was one of the late snow years. On April 23, a layer of snow fell in Iasi, Bacau, Botosani, Romana, Kotnar and Piatra-Niamca, and the day before it also snowed fairly steadily in Vaslui. After mid-April, a layer of snow fell in Rimnik-Vilca and Dei, in Tirgu-Mureş (16 cm), as well as in Krishan. On April 20, the last layer of snow fell in Dumbraven near Sighisoara.

In Sibiu in April 1997, it snowed several times, so that on April 8, the snow layer was 12 cm, on April 12 – 15 cm, on April 17 – 11 cm.

At Stâna de Vale (1117 m altitude), the snow layer exceeded one meter in the first decade of April and reached 117 cm on April 18. The snow layer melted, but only in May (on May 1, it was 21 cm).

The maximum thickness of the snow layer, measured at the weather stations of the country, was 395 cm and was recorded in April in Balea Lac.

1998 year

In the first decade, it was extremely hot, the temperature reached +33.5 C in Calarasi and Giurgi.

2002 year

In Timisoara, it was -5.7 C. A year later, also in April, the record temperature will repeat itself.

2003 year

On April 6, a layer of snow fell in Timisoara, and two days later in Tulcea, the Sf Gheorghe delta and Yurilovka. Also in April there were very short episodes of snow in Buzeu (minimum -5.3 C) and Calarasi.

It was extremely cold in the mountains: -18.4 C at the top of Țarcu, -16.6 C at Bâlea Lac, -16.2 C at Vlădeasa 1800

2005 year

On April 22, a layer of snow fell in Cluj, Karancebes (2 cm) and Lugozh. Very little snow fell in Sebesha.

2012 year

It was +30.8 degrees in Satu Mare.

year 2013

Absolute heat records for April were broken in several regions of the country: the temperature reached +31.8 °C in Iasi, +32.2 °C in Timisoara and +21 °C in Semenik.

2015 year

On April 22, it broke out in Bucharest, as well as in Mangalia.

2016 year

It was the warmest April in decades, but 2018 will bring new records. It was +32.1°C in Calarasi.

2017 year

The period of April 20-22 brought very low temperatures and a layer of snow in such places as Galati, Tekuchi, Fokshany, Barlad, Patarlagele, Rymnik Sarat and Petroshany. Snow also fell in the Danube Delta, as well as in Bărăgan and small areas of Muntenia. On April 21, 2017, Barnow, near Iasi, received 59 cm, making it six consecutive days of snow.

Also at that time, 50 cm of snow fell in Predial, 15 cm in Brasov, and 24 cm in Intorsur Buzeului. Heavy snow also fell in the Republic of Moldova at that time: 57 cm of snow fell in Chisinau on April 21 and lasted until April 25.

2018 year

It was the warmest April in the last 60 years. In Calafate it was +32.4°C, and maximums above 25°C were in all regions.

2020 is the year

It was the driest April in the last 60 years

On April 1, a layer of snow fell on Tg Jiu and Drobeta Turnu Severin. In Brasov and Intorsur Buzeului, they were below -9 C. In Bâlea Lac, they were -14.4 C, and in Poiana Stampei (Sučava County) they were -14.5 C.

2021 year

April was colder than average and records were broken at two weather stations. In several regions, the temperature was below -5 degrees.

2022 year

In most of the country, April was colder than usual. It was -4.8C in Beshe on the Danube, breaking the coldest record for April. Beshe is the place where the absolute maximum in the country was recorded for April: +35.5 C in 1985.

There was a lot of rain and in Stana de Vale, the place in the country with the most rain and snow, the monthly rainfall record was broken (247 mm, surpassing the 1993 record).

source

ANM – Characteristics of the climate for September, October and November

Statistical Yearbook of Romania, Geography, Meteorology and Environment Section.

National Meteorological Administration – Climate of Romania, Romanian Academy Publishing House, Bucharest, 2008

TuTiempo and Infoclimat platforms